Routes
East African sunbirds have been singing the same song for a million years. You can find the birds at Mount Kenya, the birthplace of Nyokabi's father. Did this bird song influence the music of the people who lived in the areas at the time? Nyokabi reflects on how her African ancestors stored knowledge orally — in song and music, in language, and storytelling — before a colonial system disrupted this living way of communicating.
For Nyokabi, the enduring nature of this bird song has profound consequences for how we understand ideas about “ancestry.” In this tryout, Nyokabi Kariuki along with Cello Octet Amsterdam perform a musical exploration of nature and heritage. With voice, cellos and field recordings, she explores the power of oral music traditions and the resilience of both birds and people.
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About A Lab Cult
A Lab Cult is the place for cultural and artistic makers who dare to experiment. This is where unexpected collaborations and groundbreaking ideas come to life. Performances that actively involve the audience, unexpected cross-pollinations between disciplines, or art forms that do not yet fit into the beaten path of regular stages. A Lab Cult is not a standard stage, but an incubator for the future of art and culture. A Lab Cult is all about the live experience: from music, theatre and dance to film and photography - as long as it is a public performance.